AHA vs BHA. Which one is the best for your skin?
You must have been interested in the effects of AHA and BHA have on your skin. These are two of the most well-known acids in exfoliators that many beauty bloggers have mentioned about. The two might be quite similar since both are acids. In fact, they are very different from each other. They are suitable with different type of skins and different problems of the skins. If you don’t know the detail or not even one bit about these, then let me explain it to you. Through this post, you would be able to choose which one is more suitable for your skin.
II. How do they work?
A. AHA — Alpha Hydroxy Acid
Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) derived from milk, fruit and sugar cane. The most two famous AHA are glycolic acid (the strongest AHA) and lactic acid. These acids have the ability to dissolve in water. Therefore, they only work one the surface of your skin. Other ingredients that are AHA like malic acid, citric acid and tartaric acid, but we don’t have to care much about these.
AHA exfoliates your dead skin cells. Smooth out and brighten the overall skin tone. These acids are especially good for people with dry skin or aging skin. Research has pointed out that using AHA promotes collagen production in the middle layer of your skin (dermis) since it could work on the dermis when it has exfoliated the upper dead skin cells. Subsequently, they improve firmness and reduce wrinkles, dark spots, and fine lines over time.
AHA works best when use in gel, cream or lotion since these types of products tend to stay on the surface of the skin. The acid will not give you the result when they are in AHA because it would be rinse away before it has time to work on your skin. Generally, it would work best on your skin when there is at least 4% of AHA and pH of 3–4 in the product.
B. BHA — Beta Hydroxy Acid
One of the common Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHA) is salicylic acid. They came from acid acetylsalicylic or aspirin. Opposite with AHA, BHA could dissolve in oil and penetrate deeper inside your pores. It contains anti-inflammatory properties and have a large molecule size. As a result, it is much gentler than glycolic acid.
Similar to AHA, BHA helps you to attain that young and new skin by exfoliating the dead skin cells. However, BHA isn’t just exfoliate the skin. It is a very good for acne treatment since it has the ability to dissolve on the surface and penetrates and works deep inside the pores. This acid also minimises the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines and dull skin.
When use BHA, use products that stay on the surface of the skin like cream, gel or lotion. And choose products with at least 1% of BHA with 3–4 pH for best result.
III. Who should use AHA/BHA?
- AHA (Alpha Hydroxy Acid):
· Dry skin
· Ageing skin
· Uneven skin tone
· Acne scars
- BHA (Beta Hydroxy Acid):
· Oily skin
· Acne-prone skin
· Dark spots from acne
· Hyperpigmentation
NOTE: You can still use BHA even when having sensitive skin. Nevertheless, be sure to take a small amount of product and test first before using it directly to your entire face. Even when you don’t have acne, you can still use BHA to shrink your pores or unclog and clean your pores before they have chance to form acne. You can use both AHA and BHA at the same time.
IV. After use
After exfoliating, AHA and BHA could make your skin to be more sensitive than normal. It is especially sensitive with the UV radiation from the sun. Exposure to UV rays can cause skin to age even faster. It will return the wrinkles, liver spots actinic keratosis, and solar elastosis to your skin. Even more, the sensitive skin would not able to protect itself from the UV radiation for long. Generally, the radiation starts to have harmful effects after about 5 to 10 minutes. Not only it reverses the result that you have spent time and money into your skin, it also causes other problems to your skin. So why don’t protect your skin and save your money?
Therefore, it is best to use AHA and BHA in the evening or night than in the morning. Nonetheless, you could use it in the morning if you prefer so, but you need to wear sunscreen before going outside at least 20 minutes. At any circumstances, I will always advise you to wear sunscreen in the morning.